Fighters Official for Sengoku 'Sixth Battle'

Set to originate from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on
Saturday, the final Sengoku show of 2008 should close the year with
a bang, as it features conclusions to the middleweight and
lightweight grand prix. The winners of those two tournaments will
move on to face the promotion’s uncrowned kings, Kazuo Misaki
and Takanori
Gomi, early next year.

“My condition is great -- so great that I can’t make any excuses if
I lose,” said former Deep lightweight champion Kazunori
Yokota, who checked in at 153.8 pounds for his lightweight
grand prix semi-final with Mizuto
Hirota (154). “When I looked into Hirota’s eyes, I felt that he
was very serious about this fight. I myself am relaxed now.”

“The only thing serious about me is my hair style,” said Hirota,
referring to his newly bleached hair. “I built up my stamina so I
can fight twice tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get two knockouts.”

On the other side of the bracket, prohibitive tournament favorite
Eiji
Mitsuoka (153.8) will collide with Satoru
Kitaoka (154). Their pre-fight banter centered on a
handshake.

“To be fighting in the ring, that’s all I can do to give back to
the people who have helped me get here,” Kitaoka said. “I think
we’ll have a really great fight.”

There was little else exchanged besides respect and platitudes
between middleweight tournament semi-finalists Kazuhiro
Nakamura (182.6) and Yuki Sasaki
(182.2). Opposite them in the bracket, however, Jorge
Santiago (180.2) and Shooto champion Siyar
Bahadurzada (182.6) had a more interesting exchange.

“I’ve seen in the eyes of my opponent and have seen what I wanted
to see,” Bahadurzada said. “Don’t blink when the bell goes.”

“I saw the same thing,” Santiago said. “Just wait for tomorrow
because he and I both want something. We’ll see who’s going to get
it.”

When asked if there were concerns regarding the one-night format
and its potential for injury, Santiago pointed to his performance
in a September 2007 Strikeforce tournament in which he defeated
Sean
Salmon and Trevor
Prangley on the same night.

“So long as I got confidence and my body is OK,” Santiago said.
“I’ve been training hard, fighting fights like these in the gym a
hundred times already. It’s the same thing I’ll do tomorrow night.
For me, fighting in the tournament is more of a mind thing -- just
focus, do your duty and finish.”

In a light heavyweight super fight, Muhammed
Lawal (204.2) returns to Sengoku to face Fabio Silva
(204.2) in his second professional mixed martial arts bout. He
delivered a stunning technical knockout victory over journeyman
Travis
Wiuff in September.

A product of the Chute Boxe Academy, Silva has won nine of his past
11 bouts and has delivered more than half (seven) of his 11 career
victories by knockout or TKO. The 26-year-old Brazilian seemed
ready to throw down at the weigh-in.

“What’s the rush?” Lawal asked. “He’s gonna get his beating
tomorrow. If we fight now, the crowd won’t see what happens. Might
as well wait till tomorrow so the crowd can see, and the truth will
be told.”

“I’ve never underestimated my opponent,” Gomi said. “This may be a
difficult fight for me, but I will endure to the best of my
ability. I’ll aim at his body for starters and then work my way to
his face. This is my first fight against a Russian fighter, and
he’s very tall. There are not many people in my division who are so
much taller than me.”